NASA announces first crewed mission to the Moon in 50 years

NASA has announced plans to send astronauts on a trip around the Moon - with the rocket built to get them there "pretty much stacked and ready to go."

It would be the first time in 50 years that any country has flown a crewed lunar mission and could serve as a stepping stone for humanity's first ever journey to Mars. Announcing their plans, the USspace agency said on X: "Experts are discussing the latest on the Artemis II mission. Artemis II, which will send four astronauts around the Moon next year, will prepare us for crewed missions to the lunar surface and future Martian missions."

NASAhad previously aimed for a launch by the end of April, but now hopes to bring the mission forward to February - with hopes for them to land there as early as 2027.

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The ten-day journey will see astronauts test the spaceship and systems they'll need for future Moon landings. It will be the second launch of the Artemis programme, which aims to not only land astronauts, but eventually establish a long-term human presence on the Moon.

Lakiesha Hawkins, one of Nasa's acting deputy associate administrators, described the mission as being key in the human exploration of space. "We together have a front row seat to history," she said during a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

"The launch window could open as early as the fifth of February, but we want to emphasize that safety is our top priority."

Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the rocket built to carry astronauts, the Space Launch System (SLS), is "pretty much stacked and ready to go." The final steps are completing the crew capsule, Orion, connecting it to the SLS, and finishing ground tests.

The first Artemis mission in November 2022 lasted 25 days and sent an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon before safely re-entering Earth's atmosphere. While largely successful, it revealed heatshield issues during re-entry, which have since been resolved.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen will not land on the Moon, but they will become the first crew to travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. Lead Artemis II flight director Jeff Radigan said the astronauts will venture at least 5,000 nautical miles (9,200 km) past the Moon - further than anyone has gone before.

The crew will live in the Orion capsule atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. After launch, the boosters and rocket stages separate, and Orion unfolds its solar panels for power. The astronauts will check all systems, then practice manoeuvring the spacecraft in "space ballet" drills to get ready for future Moon landings. Finally, Orion will fire its engines to head toward the Moon, taking four days to get there while the crew keeps testing everything.